Girl, 4, Has Acid Flung in Her Face at Family Outing

A 4-year-old La Habra girl suffered burns on her face, chest and legs during a family visit to Los Coyotes Regional Park when an unidentified man threw two cups of acid at her, Buena Park police reported Sunday.

It was not known whether the girl’s vision would be impaired as a result of the attack, which occurred as young Rachel Ogawa and her mother, Elaine, were emerging from a restroom after a picnic at the park on Saturday afternoon, police said.

The girl’s father and younger sister had left to bring the car around at about 5 p.m. when Rachel and her mother stopped for a moment at the restroom. When they came out, a man described as a male Latino of medium build between 18 and 20 years old was standing just outside the door.

“They confront each other, he says nothing to her, he doesn’t ask for money, he doesn’t make any kind of a statement,” Buena Park Police Officer Terry Branum said. The man quickly threw the contents of two plastic cups in the girl’s face, and the contents ran down her chest and legs, Branum said.

Though the substance has not yet been identified, Branum said it was “some kind of clear liquid acid, as best we can tell at this point.”

Witnesses who saw the man flee in a faded yellow pickup truck said he appeared to have scars on his face, “as if he had been burned at one time,” Branum said. “Maybe he’s just disgruntled about being burned himself, but that’s just pure speculation. It really was just an unprovoked attack at this point.”

Elaine Ogawa carried her daughter into the car after the attack, at first uncertain about what had happened. The parents began searching for a park ranger, but when the child began screaming in pain, her father, Gary Ogawa, said he carried her to a nearby pond and immersed her in the water.

The child was listed in fair condition Sunday at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton with first- and second-degree burns to her face, chest and legs. Though it was feared that she may have suffered some corneal damage, nursing supervisor Susan Barr said hospital officials are “pretty much” sure that she will retain her vision.

“Her eyes are very swollen, and it’s difficult for her to open them, so it’s hard to tell, but we think so,” Barr said.

“She has burns all over the front of her body,” Gary Ogawa said in an interview. “I spent the night with her in the hospital, and she’s trying to sleep. She doesn’t appear to be in any pain, which is surprising. But she’s not the type to complain.”

Ogawa said he and his family had not spoken to anyone else during the picnic.

“It was a nice day and we went out to the park in the afternoon to have lunch,” he said. “We were just sitting under our own little tree, and we were finally getting ready to leave the park right at closing time.”

Ogawa said he took his other daughter with him to pick up the car while his wife and Rachel went into the restroom. He said neither he nor his wife “know who or why” the incident occurred. “The person who threw it specifically aimed at our daughter, but we don’t know why,” Ogawa said. “. . . It’s just a very, very unfortunate and freak incident that happened. It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

Both Elaine Ogawa, who was standing behind her daughter when the substance was thrown, and Gary Ogawa, who carried Rachel to the pond, were treated for minor acid burns and released.

Branum said laboratory tests are under way to identify the substance and any fingerprints that might have been left on the cups, which were recovered.

Several witnesses standing near the restroom said the suspect ran south from the restroom through the park, climbed a fence that borders Hillcrest Road and fled in a small faded yellow pickup that might have been a Ford.